This Unique Hike In Maine Leads To A Moving Memorial Site
By Michelle|Published July 24, 2019
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Michelle
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Michelle's life is a colorful map of exploration and adventure. From the iconic streets of New York to the sunny shores of Florida, the jagged coast of Maine to the rugged terrain of Montana, she's been fortunate to call some of America's most beautiful states home. Beyond the U.S., Michelle's wanderlust has taken her on a motorcycle journey through India, led her to teach English in Hanoi, and saw her studying Spanish in Guatemala. Michelle graduated with a communications degree from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and in addition to a career in advertising has worked with OnlyInYourState since 2016, where her love for travel and storytelling converges. Alongside writing and exploring, Michelle finds joy in photography, staying active, and time with her family.
For questions, comments and inquiries please email: mstarin@onlyinyourstate.com.
Hiking in Maine is the best way to get outside and see what our state landscape is all about. From sky-high mountains to marshes and beach trails, there are so many ways to remember why we love being in Maine. But some hikes are a little more special. They lead to areas that tell an important story about our past. For an interesting look into the past, try this hike to the site of a plane crash in Maine. It features a beautiful memorial kept up by those who visit.
Hidden in the Maine woods of Piscataquis County is an interesting piece of aviation history, lying scattered on the ground.
You'll start in Greenville. To get there drive north on Lily Bay Road for about seven miles. Then make a right onto Prong Pond Road. Less than two miles from here the road will veer and you'll stay straight. About four miles from here you'll stay right at the fork in the road. You'll reach a small parking lot on the left in just over five miles. This is where the trail begins.
It was the first mission of its type on the East Coast and was intended to practice ways of getting through Advanced Capability Radar without being detected by Soviets during the Cold War.
Two crew members from Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts and two instructors based in New Mexico took off towards Maine. They'd been given the choice of flying over North Carolina, but chose Maine, given the weather.
After realizing it was too late, the pilot told everyone to eject themselves. Three were able to do so, but six crew members in the lower deck didn't have time to get out before the plane crashed on the west side of Elephant Mountain around 3 p.m.
The remains of the crash have been left in their original place for visitors to see. Oftentimes, you'll find makeshift memorials to those who died in the crash, including American flags.
This is a beautiful hike, but the memory of those who died is just as important.
For driving directions from your location, click here to see the map.
For more cool Maine history, check out this article. It’s all about the state’s oldest tavern where some pretty cool things happened to change Maine as we know it.
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